Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 43, Number 309, 9 November 1918 — Page 14

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RICHMOND PALLADIUM, NOVEMBER 9. 1918.

LOAN SCOUTS GIVE PUZZLE Two Terr bright bowys of undiscovered talent as well as of Richmond, acknowledged that they are the authors of the following most mysterious and exciting story. The story was published in an October number of Lone Scout If Richmond really posses such talented boys, it should be Justly proud. Everyone that tries to solre the codes and puzzles will appreciate what genius Richmond la supposed to own though kept secret as yet

like the mystery contained therein. Ed. ; . ... ! -t ... We have all of us puzzled over old maps and codes,! but I feel that I have had more than my share of pleasure in this way and have finally decided to call on my brother Scout3 to assist jne in solving the puzzle code which my mother found while a captive of Keley, the pirate chief, on a small island in the South Seas. 1 Dull it may prove " to you, but I have found it lively f enough. But to get on with the story. The jfest jway will bo for me to tell it to you as it has been told to me many times by my mother. Business being ' rather slack, Cantain Harper was induced to sign a contract with one of the South American governments to carry a rich treasure cargo to Europe. The "Nellie Harper" was the name of his ship, which was the latest thing in sailing vessels of the time. He had named It after his 19-y ear-old daughter, who was to accompany hira on this trip. Also his son, Elmer (usually called El), and his chum, ' Don Harper, - though no relation to the Captain's family, were to go as passengirs. Over and above the officers and " passengers, the crew numbered 35. After the treasure was all stored, every one was given a " day's liberty, as thi3 would be the last time for many a day that they would see land. Don, El, and Nellie procured a carriage and drove to the outskirts of the city. Great field of grain greeted them, as this was the harvest time and the Bob White and other birds everywhere sang them tbeirweetest songB, as they seemed to realize that they were going away. Youth will be served, and after the journey began the three young folks found many ways to amuse themselves. It was on the seventeenth day out that El, at the top - of the mainmast, discovered a sail ahead and to starboard. He called down "Ship ahoy" to the Captain, who Inquired, "Where away?" El replied that it was about eight points to starboard. He had his binoculars focussed on the distant ship and Its appearance seemed to send a chill through him. . El hardly knew what to make of this feeling, but when he made out. the symbol on Its flag he came more nearly falling to deck than he did climbing. He went to his father on the bridge and told him that ., the ship flew the. "skull and crossbones" on its black flag. Captain Harper, after verifying this report, immediately ordered t the decks cleared for action, and all was immediately hustle and bustle. Men were everywhere hollerln' and yelling with excitement. One of the sailors remarked to his mate, "Just wait till we get in de fray den we'll have all de excitement we want" Everv moment the in rate shin came closer. The Captain had the small boats prepared for emergency. Then the pirates be gan coming toward the "Nellie Harper" in their small boats, and the four-pounder under the Cap- ' tain's directions began firing on them. ' Commencing at this point my mother (who is none other than Nellie Harper) will never talk of what occurred, and my. father has - onl told me the merest details, in Mia confusion every one was mixed up. A shell from the four-pounder disabled toe "Skeleton" ana leu her in a sinking condition, but all her crew were In the sAall boats. The men of the "Nellie Harper" were too greatly outnumbered and Anally the Captain gave the order to take to the boats and try to escape to the island several miles to port. El would have gone for . Nellie, but was forced into the "xjat with the others and could tot get out Harper was the last one to leave, and when he found

THESE AMERICAN "BOYS LED WAY ACROSS

Capt his daughter was not there he nearly went insane, but was prevented from returning by the others, for ,J the pirates were now swarming" over the sides, and besides this, his daughter was probably in one of the other boats, they told him. He soon calmed down and be gan planning a systematic arrangement should Nellie happen to be in the hands of the pirates. The Captain, El nad Don, -with several of the crew, occupied one boat and they saw one other much nearer the island. A great confusion was seen on the "Nellie Harper" and it was afterward learned that the pirates fought among themselves until only a handful of them remained alive. "Reminds me of the raid o'Wo Sing's opium den three years ago," said one of the sailors, who had been in San Francisco at the time. "Yes, Tom saw yer there, didn't he?" asked another. "I was some fight!" In a few hours the boat was safely beached and every one began building a shelter. Every one, that is, except Captain Harper, who kept moaning, "My Pet, my darling." The boys tried to comfort him, but found it better to leave him alone. They also noticed from a cliff behind where they were camped that the few remaining pirates had anchored the "Nellie Harper" on the other side of the .island. Night came on and all except the guards turned in and slept. Every one x was up bright and early the next morning. El and Don decided to walk over and spy on the enemies' camp and set out Immediately. When they returned after noon they had cocoanuts enough for all and some information. They had seen the pirates carrying the treasure ashore, but could not tell what they did with it. They also held captive the crew of the other small boat, including Nellie, and the boys were glad to see that she appeared to , be well. She had a tent adjoining the one used by the sailors and a guard marched up and down in front of the two tents to see that the captives did not escape. They could sit in front of the tents, however, if they wished. When Don told the Captain that Nellie was there hewnxiously asked, "Is she all right? Don told him that everything seemed well with her and then all of them gathered to discuss plans of rescuing Nellie and tbo seamen. First, as there were only eleven of the pirates and as the Captain had six sailors besides Don and El, It was decided to move closer to the pirates camp. All of them were well armed, so they thought their chances were pretty good. They camped that night where they could see the camp fire of the pirsftes, and before dawn they decided they would be in possession of the "Nellie Harper" again with all of their friends rescued. Toward morning they all quietly arose and crept forward to the enemies' camp. Only one of them was on guard, and Don Jumped on him and strangled him so that hej

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Henry F. Miller, in center, and fellow could not make the slightest noise. The others went to the large tent in which the pirates were sleeping and surrounded it, then the Captain entered and ordered them to surrender. The realized they were beaten, but several would have made trouble except that some of the seamen came In and they quickly overcame the troublesome ones. By this time it was dawn and they saw the , prettiest sight they had ever seen. Old Glory had been, left waving from . the mainmast of the "Nellie Harper," and it greeted them in all its splendor. Nellie and the captive sailors had now come out and they all had a joyous reunion. Often during the day Captain Harper tried to get Keeley to tell what had become of the treasure, but he could not be Induced to talk, so finally the Captain ordered three of the men and Don to row Keeley over to the ship and put him in irons. Before he left one of the pirates stepped up and said: "Give me your paw, Keeley and rest assured none of us will squeal." The rest of the day passed uneventfully, except tnat Nellie gave the Captain a piece of paper which had fallen out of Keeley's pocket when he passed her tent the day before. The paper consisted of a message in code, hut no one wa3 able to' solve It. "Just a fake or else some of Keeley's nonseuse," said one of the men, and after a twelveday search the Captain was inclined to think the same way. He gave Keeley one more chance to Rell and told him if he did not he would be hung in the morning. The pirate remained silent, however, and at dawn the next morning he breathed his last, swinging on a rope from the yardarm. The other pirates promised to help sail the vessel to port for which the Captain said he would be as lenient as possible with them. That noon the "Nellie Harper" set out for home. Every one had believed Captain Harper and his ship were lost, and great was the rejoicing when she sailed into port, at home, in the grand old U. S. A. My mother (that is, Nellie Harper) married Don several years later and the old code message fell Into my hands when I became old enough to take care of It. Several times lately I have planned to send a copy to "Lone Scout" so that my brother Scouts could help solve it I have just got around to it. and you will find herewith an exact copy of the original. If any of yon are fortunate enough to solve it, kindly let me know and we will plan to set out and recover the treasure. With the best of luck, I am your brotherScout JOE HARPER. The message: Ulf qto obnft pg tfwfouffo tfwfoufrofst bsf Ijeefo Jo uijt tupsz. Bmtp uif gjstu mfuufs pg fbdi qbsbhsbql tblfo psefo tqfmmt ulf obnf pg uif pof xlp fbt nbet Lone Scout i

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officers. Query Comer The editor will try to answer questions readers of tho Junior submit to her. She will not promise to answer all of them The questions will be answered in rotation, so do not expect the answer to be printed in the same week in which you send lit in.. Dear Aunt MottK ' .. What does the Rea. tin foil? Cambridge City. Nss do with v x M. H. Dear M. M. H. After a great big amount of tln-T foil has been coKceted, perhaps a ton, it i3 sold to the junk dealers or sold direct to an association of manufactures ' who use it, called The War Service Association of the Solder and Babbitt Metal manufacturers. This association is made up of 90 per cent ol all tne concerns in the United States to which tin can be sold. A ton of pure tin foil brings $1,600.00. So you see it is very worth while to save all ycu can collect from all sources. Aunt Molly. Dear Aunt Molly: How many stars fall every night? Betty Price. Dear Betty: As many stars fall every night as there are dew drops on two certain blades of grass on May day of each year. The two blades of grass that tell the story are tho very first two that come up in the spring. I hope you will be ready to tell Juniors next year how many stars will fall in 1919, because stars are very Interesting things, and we are all anxious to hear about them. Aunt Molly. Dear Aunt Molly: What Is the Kaiser's adventure? Betty Estelle. Dear Betty: The Kaiser's adventure Is a wonderful trip he will take sometime in the near future to a far away Island where the only food is cocoanuts served by monkeys, where the only music one can hear is the lappinn of unhealing waves and the only thing for its one inhabitant to do will be to twin his fingers in the sand. Aunt Molly. A moving bakery capable of mixing flour into dough, moulding the dough and dividing Into predetermined weights Is used In the British army. The machine is mounted on a specially constructed motor truck so that it can follow the troops. With it a crew of five men can make 6,000 loaves of any size, shape or weight in one hour, which is the same amount of work wfiich formerly required 112 army bakers mixing bread in the field by hand. Are you going to be one of the "Million Boys behind a Million Fighters?"

A LITTtE GIRL WHO BECAME A GREAT SINGER Did you ever hear of Jenny LInd? Well, she was one of the greatest singers that has ever lived. She was born way over in Sweden and began to sing when she was almost a baby. Before she was 9 years of age she was admitted to the Conservatory, and was a public singer and a great favorite before she was 12. Then the little girl had a great ' sorrow, for she lost her beautiful voice. However, in a few years it came back suddenly and she sang more beautifully than ever. When she was 20, she was made Court Singer, which was a great honor. One evening after singing r.t the opera la Vienna, over a thousand people followed her earlier window thirty times to bow to the crowd that applauded her. In England the Queen was so delighted with her singing that , sho

iriage home and she had to come to ! wanted to give her many things, but Jenny Lind would only accept a bracelet. This she always prized very much. She gave concerts in America for almost two years and made a great deal of money. And what do you think she did with it! She gave it all to help other people. Some of it shevgave to send boys and girls to school. With some she built hospitals and did all sorts of things to make people happy. She sang so beautifully that she was called "The Swedish Nightingale'Brook Brooklyn Junior Eagle. A BAD BOY j Once upon a time there was a little boy that was very bad and s so when Hallowe'en came, he said, ; "Mama, I am going out tonight and ! have some fun." j But his mother said, "No, you j can not go because you have been a naugthy boy and I can't tru3t you, you might get put in jail." : This made the little boy angry. But he had to go to bed and his father and mother, went to bed too and they went to sleep but not the little boy. He got up and went down stairs and put on his clothes and went out doors to have soma fun. He went along the street till X came to a crowd of other bad j bo, hat he didn't like at all. They didntvvx.,hlm either and the little boyv. s afraid the other boys would hurrx so he went along behind the trow " until he got away from the B . He had to go through an allei., nd he said, "I am not afraid." he went down the alley and whv, he got about in the middle of it h. Vard the funniest noise and then h. "as scared and ran and ran till he ca.t x to the end of the alley and h. stopped and looked around him. He saw some white things coming after him. I forgot to tell you there was a haunted house on one street and they ran after him until he was In front of this house. Then some more white things appeared and got the little boys and took him in the house and there were some more white things and they all cried, "To the chopping block with him." This scared the little boy half to death and then they all took off their false faces and they were only the boys from whom he had run away. NINA MURRAY, age 8 years. THE VICTORY GIRLS Have you heard about the Victory Girls? Probably you have, but for the sake of those who hare not I'll try to explain about them. The main object of the Victory Girls is to carry "home" into the trenches. Of course there are the Y. M. C. A., the Jewish ' Welfare Board, the Knights of Columbus, the Salvation Army all helping to carry "home" into the trenches but these organizations can not work without money. Therefore the American people must sacrifice. The Victory Girls band together and each pledges five dollars (or any amount they are sure they will raise) which they are to earn. The money pledged does not hare to be all turned In until March, 1919, although we are urged to pay it as soon as possible because the money will be needed. Anyway you see there will be plenty of time for the girls to earn their money. The Girl Scouts will undoubtedly be the first division of Victory Girls in Richmond because their vote will be cast at the next meeting of the scouts. MADGE WHTTESELL.